Sense and Sensibility

Two sisters, one practical and full of commonsense, the other a passionate and emotional creature, an uncaring brother and his avaricious wife, a handsome rake and a faithful gentleman – these are some of the unforgettable characters who make Jane Austen's first published novel, Sense and Sensibility such a delightful, witty and timeless classic.

The novel was published under the pseudonym “A Lady” by its shy and retiring nineteen-year-old author, Jane Austen, in 1811. She was the daughter of a country rector and lived all her life in the circle of her large and loving family in a little village in Hampshire, England. There is very little autobiographical material available about her, as her well-meaning relatives burned and destroyed most of her diaries and letters after her death.

Sense and Sensibility is a charming story of two sisters who see life from two very different viewpoints. When their father suddenly dies, leaving his entire estate to their half-brother John, the sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, their mother and youngest sister Margaret are thrown at the financial mercy of John and his mean-minded wife, Fanny. Mrs Dashwood and her daughters soon realize that they are not welcome at their former home Norland Hall. Fanny's brother Edward Ferrars, who is quite different from his greedy and graceless sister, arrives and begins to form an attachment to Elinor, which is violently opposed by Fanny. Mrs Dashwood is hurt and bewildered, but finally realizes that they have no option but to leave. They move to Devonshire, where Mrs Dashwood's cousin, Sir John Middleton welcomes them and helps them to find suitable lodgings. While out walking one rainy evening, Marianne suffers a small accident and is rescued by the suave and dashing John Willoughby. She falls passionately in love with him.

The story takes several interesting twists and turns, driven by the opposing natures of the two sisters. More than two hundred years after publication, this delightful tale still manages to capture the reader's imagination as it echoes universal truths of passion, love, social status and ethics. Sense and Sensibility is a coming of age novel, marked by Jane Austen's deliciously ironic and sharp wit and famously under-stated style that will certainly appeal to modern-day readers.
Two sisters, one practical and full of commonsense, the other a passionate and emotional creature, an uncaring brother and his avaricious wife, a handsome rake and a faithful gentleman – these are some of the unforgettable characters who make Jane Austen's first published novel, Sense and Sensibility such a delightful, witty and timeless classic.

The novel was published under the pseudonym “A Lady” by its shy and retiring nineteen-year-old author, Jane Austen, in 1811. She was the daughter of a country rector and lived all her life in the circle of her large and loving family in a little village in Hampshire, England. There is very little autobiographical material available about her, as her well-meaning relatives burned and destroyed most of her diaries and letters after her death.

Sense and Sensibility is a charming story of two sisters who see life from two very different viewpoints. When their father suddenly dies, leaving his entire estate to their half-brother John, the sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, their mother and youngest sister Margaret are thrown at the financial mercy of John and his mean-minded wife, Fanny. Mrs Dashwood and her daughters soon realize that they are not welcome at their former home Norland Hall. Fanny's brother Edward Ferrars, who is quite different from his greedy and graceless sister, arrives and begins to form an attachment to Elinor, which is violently opposed by Fanny. Mrs Dashwood is hurt and bewildered, but finally realizes that they have no option but to leave. They move to Devonshire, where Mrs Dashwood's cousin, Sir John Middleton welcomes them and helps them to find suitable lodgings. While out walking one rainy evening, Marianne suffers a small accident and is rescued by the suave and dashing John Willoughby. She falls passionately in love with him.

The story takes several interesting twists and turns, driven by the opposing natures of the two sisters. More than two hundred years after publication, this delightful tale still manages to capture the reader's imagination as it echoes universal truths of passion, love, social status and ethics. Sense and Sensibility is a coming of age novel, marked by Jane Austen's deliciously ironic and sharp wit and famously under-stated style that will certainly appeal to modern-day readers.

Reviewer:Rachel - March 3, 2017Subject:VoicesI can't get past Mr. Dashwood sounding so much older than his wife. The reader for his part also reads with little or no variation or feeling. I would prefer just the narrator if the characters are not "in character."

Reviewer:Selma - May 26, 2016Subject:Thank you!I appreciate you hard work to make this book available at loyalbooks. I am glad I can listen to it while I drive to work. Many thanks to you all!

Reviewer:Deborah - March 16, 2016Subject:bad narrationI'm grateful for this free service (Thank you!) and I presume that the narrators are all volunteers. I also appreciate the experimental nature of this audiobook (different people voicing different characters), but some of the cast voices are awful. The Siri-sounding Mrs. Dashwood, the aged-sounding Col. Brandon, and a few others just not good. A few good voices (e.g., Marianne), but some of the characters have American accents, and there's even an Aussie or Kiwi accent in there. I plan to find another audio version out there in free-audio-book-land. I know of at least one other, and there might be more.

Reviewer:AriGrl - September 13, 2015Subject:Mrs. DashwoodOh My!!! I couldnt wait to review this :0 I love this book and I am familiar with the movie, as I've seen it numerous times. I could not get past Mrs. Dashwood's voice however. It sounded like she was always asking a question when she spoke! Everyone else was pretty good! I especially liked Marianne. I thought she was amazing. There really needs to be some quality control; although, I do understand this is all volunteer! But like another reviewer, I busted up laughing every time I heard Mrs. D speak! Thank you for allowing an honest review!

Reviewer:Catherine - June 24, 2015Subject:Oh my god the voices. Mrs Dashwood's robotic Siri voice made me turn this off many times. Colonel Brandon sounded like an 80 year old. John Middleton's was almost as bad as Mrs Dashwood's. And Mrs Jenner - I almost died laughing at the description that she recorded it into a potato. So spot on. Even the narrator sounded tragic and tired for most of it. I found some of the accents a bit distracting, but it was the other voices that really made this hard to get through. I would rather have it all read by one person with no voices than to have this.

Reviewer:Tina - August 7, 2014I laughed so hard whenever Mrs Dashwood spoke, first I thought it's me but then I read other comments about her and tears come down my eye. Almost broke my ribs laughing.

Reviewer:Alana - July 18, 2014Thank you for this service. Perhaps some quality control should be put in place. Mrs. Dashwoods voice make it difficult to listen. Col Brandon come across as much older than 35 years. These narration have ruined this. I'll get a CD set from the public library.

Reviewer:Zoe - July 9, 2014Love the narrator, but yes, Mrs Dashwood is a tad irksome. Is it just me, or does Arielle Lipshaw (Marianne)sound just like Emma Watson?!

Reviewer:Angelica - May 7, 2014Wow. I love this book. My few complaints are that Mrs. Dashwood sounds like a badly programmed robot; Colonel Brandon has a really old-sounding voice; Mrs. Jennings sounds like she used a potato as a recorder; and Willoughby has a strange accent. But the rest, like the narrator and Marianne sound great. Love this book soooo much.

Reviewer:CS - February 5, 2014Subject:Sense and SensibilityMrs. Dashwood's voice is VERY odd. I can't listen to what she's saying because all I think about is how irritating her cadence and inflections are.

October 7, 2013Mrs Dashwood's voice is RIDICULOUS. How did that get approved to be published?

Reviewer:PJ - October 2, 2013Subject:Sense and SensibilityI can no longer listen to this book. Oh My Goodness!! Mrs. Dashwood and her odd inflections at the end of a sentence. There are some characters who are easy to understand and others who are so difficult. I made it to chapter 17 and had had enough. The only redeeming quality is I love the Book. Not this reading of it.

Reviewer:Mae - September 30, 2013Subject:Sense & SensibilityWhy is Mrs. Dashwood's voice like this!! Horrible reading for Mrs. Dashwood :( Love the story but her voice is ruining it for me.

Reviewer:Susie - September 20, 2013Subject:Sense & SensibilityThankful for this service, but Mrs. Dashwood sounds like Mrs. Stepford - so weird!

Reviewer:Meg - September 15, 2013The reader for Mrs. Dashwood (the girls' mother) uses strange intonation, and Colonel Brandon's voice sounds much older than 35 (maybe 75), which I had to consciously ignore. However, it wasn't too difficult to get past this, and the narrator and other readers are excellent! Overall, fantastic version. Thank you all so much for recording this!

Reviewer:Gadfly - September 8, 2013Mrs. Dashwood's narrator makes me want to punch kittens. I'm baffled by it. She ends every statement with the same cadence and is unnatural throughout.

Reviewer:Diana - August 27, 2013Oh my goodness...I may not be able to get through this! The mother's voice is driving me NUTS! The story, of course, is fabulous.

Reviewer:Robin - August 6, 2013I agree. The narrator is perfect, and most other readers are great, but Mrs. Dashwood's voice is irritating.

July 9, 2013The narrator is perfect along with some characters of the novel except Mrs. Dashwood and Colonel Brandon. But the most artful reader is the one who reads the lines of Mrs. Jennings. I was all pleasure to hear her voice.

Reviewer:Daniel - July 8, 2013It took me a while to get used to the voices, but after that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Reviewer:AA - June 26, 2013I agree with the mothers voice but otherwise its amazing that this site is free.

Reviewer:Sarah - June 20, 2013The American accents for some characters are ridiculous; they should all be English in this novel.

Reviewer:Bill - June 9, 2013Subject:Sense and SensibilityThe reader of the mother is dreadful. Ruins it.